Is Suicide a Sin?

Question: What does the Bible say about
suicide? Is suicide a sin? Do those who commit suicide go to heaven?

Suicide literally means "self-killing."
The Bible says, "You shall not murder." (Exodus 20:13 WEB)
Murder is murder, whether it be killing someone else or killing
yourself. God is the giver of all life, and destroying human life by
our own will is evil.

In the Bible, Paul experienced severe
depression, saying, "we were weighed down exceedingly, beyond
our power, so much that we despaired even of life." (2
Corinthians 1:8 WEB)

Paul further recounts what he had gone through
to cause his severe depression, explaining, "Five times from the
Jews I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten
with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I suffered shipwreck. I
have been a night and a day in the deep [sea]. I have been in travels
often, perils of rivers, perils of robbers, perils from my
countrymen, perils from the Gentiles, perils in the city, perils in
the wilderness, perils in the sea, perils among false brothers; in
labor and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in
fastings often, and in cold and nakedness. Besides those things that
are outside, there is that which presses on me daily, anxiety for all
the assemblies." (2 Corinthians 11:24-28 WEB)

It is through Paul's experiences with
depression and sufferings that he learned, "I can do all
things through Christ, who strengthens me." (Philippians 4:13
WEB) In the previous verse, he explains that this is the secret to
overcoming his depression and suffering, "I learned the secret
both to be filled and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in need.
I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me."
(Philippians 4:12-13 WEB)

Do Those Who Commit Suicide Go to
Heaven?

Whether people who commit suicide are
still saved and go to heaven is a controversial topic in
Christianity, because the Bible does not clearly state that
committing suicide means you will go to hell.

However, Jesus gives an
interesting warning to believers in Revelation, saying, "He who
overcomes will be arrayed like this in white garments, and I will in
no way blot his name out of the book of life." (Revelation 3:5
WEB)

Jesus is speaking to believers in the
church in Sardis, warning them to repent of sin, or else they risk
having their name removed from the book of life.

Similarly, in the Parable of the Sheep
and Goats, the king separates the saved from the condemned based on
their actions, "for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat; I
was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you took me
in." (Matthew 25:35 WEB)

The reason why there is such a huge
emphasis on actions is because we show what we believe by what we do.
James makes this clear when he says, "For as the body apart from
the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead."
(James 2:26 WEB) Paul also agrees about the connection between our
actions and belief, saying, "They profess that they know God,
but by their works they deny him." (Titus 1:16 WEB)

So do those who commit suicide go to
heaven? Due to the fact that belief is shown through our actions, and
that it is possible for "believers" who sin to have their
name removed from the book of life if they don't truly repent, the
likely answer is no.

Suicide could be considered an ultimate
sin, because afterwards there is no option for repentance. The one
who commits suicide has murdered themselves and now has no
opportunity for regret.